Carrollton High alum and Ohio State Trooper Nicholas Cayton killed in line of duty

A 2004 graduate of Carrollton High School who became a well-respected state trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol was fatally injured Oct. 16 while on duty in Mahoning County. 

According to officials of the Canfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Trooper Nicholas P. Cayton was fatally struck while assisting a disabled vehicle on state Route 11 last Thursday morning. 

Cayton responded around 11:52 a.m. to state Route 11 northbound, south of U.S. 224, following reports of a disabled 2024 Kenworth semi tractor-trailer stopped in the right lane. Upon making contact with the semi driver, Nelson De Jesus Herrera Vasquez, 65, of Florida, it was determined his vehicle had struck an item in the roadway. 

While still on scene, Cayton was sitting in his marked cruiser with emergency overhead lights activated when a 2007 Mack Granite, driven by Ryan Rach, 35, of Canfield, traveling northbound, crashed into the back of his cruiser. The cruiser then traveled forward into the back of the disabled tractor-trailer, also striking Vasquez, who was standing outside his vehicle. 

Cayton was pronounced dead at the scene, and Vasquez was life-flighted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Rach was not injured in the crash. 

Cayton, who also was an outstanding athlete while attending Carrollton High School, had been a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol since 2012. An obituary is published in this issue.